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ABORTION 5'1m1f Abortion: sorting through the rhetoric

AMY -- (enters, crosses to DC, paces floor, wringing hands)

BOB -- (enters opposite, crosses to Amy) Hey, babe, what's going 
on? You don't answer my phone calls for three days and then all 
of a sudden I get a mysterious message on my answering machine. 
(imitating) "Bobby, meet me at the park. I need to talk to you 
about something important." Don't I even get a kiss?

AMY -- (continues to pace) You may not want a kiss after you 
hear what I have to say.

BOB -- You're not breaking up with me, are you, Amy?

AMY -- No. It's nothing like that.

BOB -- Don't tell me. You finally got that scholarship to...

AMY -- (turns) ...Bobby, I'm pregnant.

BOB -- You're what?

AMY -- I'm pregnant.

BOB -- You're kidding, right?

AMY -- I wish I were.

BOB -- How could this happen? We always used protection...

AMY -- ...I don't know how it happened, Bobby. All I know is 
that I'm pregnant and there's no doubt about it. 

BOB -- (running fingers through his hair) Oh, wow.

AMY -- (paces) I've spent the last three days trying to figure 
out what to do.

BOB -- What's to figure out? We'll just take you down to the 
family planning clinic and...

AMY -- (stops pacing) ...You mean abortion.

BOB -- Well, sure. You're not really thinking about having the 
baby, are you?

AMY -- That's exactly what I'm thinking.

BOB -- You can't be serious. (reaches for her elbow) Listen, 
let's just run down to the clinic. It will all be over in a 
couple of hours.

AMY -- (pulls away) What will be over in a couple of hours?

BOB -- You know, the procedure. They do it all the time. Come 
on. (reaches for her elbow)

AMY -- (pulls away) Do you know what happens in an abortion, 
Bobby?

BOB -- Well, sure. It's just a blob of tissue.

AMY -- That's what the abortionists like to tell you. If I made 
as much money from abortions as they do, I might lie about it 
too. What I have growing inside of me is a life, Bobby. A human 
life. 

BOB -- It's certainly not a baby.

AMY -- Even when it was just a few seconds old, it was already 
determined what its hair color would be, how tall it would be 
when it grew up, how what shape its nose would be, how 
intelligent it would be, whether it would have your athletic 
ability or my musical talent....

BOB -- Amy, you can't bring an unwanted baby into the world.

AMY -- That's another cliche created by the abortionists. But 
the fact is there is no such thing as an unwanted baby. I looked 
it up on the internet. One guy says there are at least 20,000 
married couples who are desperate to adopt a baby. They don't 
even care what color it is, whether it's got all of it's arms 
and legs, or even whether it's mentally retarded. In fact, some 
of them are so desperate for a baby that they'll pay for my 
living expenses and my medical expenses until the baby arrives.

BOB -- Amy, this will ruin EVERYTHING. What about college?

AMY -- Bobby, what are my plans compared to a human life? 
According to a chart I saw, my baby already has little tiny arms 
and legs, and a heart and a brain. What if I killed a baby who 
would have turned out to be a Heisman Trophy winner or a 
world-class musician?

BOB -- Well, if it was MY pregnancy. I would take care of it.

AMY -- "Take care of it."

BOB -- Yeah.

AMY -- That's another cliche. But it's never that simple. Did 
you know that some babies survive the injection and are born 
maimed or scared for life?

BOB -- No, I didn't know that.

AMY -- Of course, you didn't. If the abortionists told everybody 
what really happens, nobody have an abortion.

BOB -- Amy, you're not ready to have a baby.

AMY -- Bobby, it's a human life. One of Psalms of King David 
says "I knew you when you were in your mother's womb." That mean 
my teeny tiny baby even has a personality.

BOB -- (long pause, sigh) I don't know what to say.

AMY -- I know you don't. The articles I read said that an 
abortion decision is hardly ever about life and death. This 
decision comes down to you and me, doesn't it?

BOB -- (shrugs silently, looking down)

AMY -- You're going to make me choose between you and the baby, 
aren't you?

BOB -- It's your decision. You know the plans we had.

AMY -- (sighs) This is the hardest decision I will ever make. 

BOB -- You're really going to go through with it, aren't you? I 
mean, you're going to have this baby, aren't you?

AMY -- I couldn't live with myself knowing that I killed a human 
life. 

BOB -- Well, if that's the way you want it....

AMY -- That's not the way I want it, Bobby. That's the way it 
has to be. I think I knew right away that it would come to this. 
The only comfort I have is some statistics from the articles 
I've been reading.

BOB -- What statistics?

AMY -- A man without the moral fiber to stick by his woman on a 
life and death decision probably wouldn't have much of a 
commitment to their marriage either.

BOB -- Listen, I have plenty of moral fiber. (fans air at Amy) 
Ah! What's the use in talking to you. You're not listening. 
(looks at watch) I've got to go. (exiting) It's been... (turns, 
exits backward) Have a good life.

AMY -- (tearful pause, exits opposite) WE will.

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